Everything About You
by MorgieSan
Summary: A sort of collection of one and two-shots. They'll mostly be featuring the adorable Ella Castle and her adventures  and misadventures  with Rick and Kate Castle. So these are family fics. Enjoy.
1. Because I Got High

Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story. Nothing.

Notes: I wrote this and put it on Tumblr under a cut tag because it was so long. I decided it needed to go here too. The title doesn't have a whole heck of a lot to do with the story. It just happens to be the name of the song I used. If you all happened to read "Grass Stains and Leather" then that's great, and this is the same house where her motorcycle stays. If not, I've imagined a world where Jim moved out of the city after he got sober. He lives about an hour away.

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><p>He watched from the bay window as the headlights cut through the inky black of night on his street. They were so bright they were almost blue, and he had to look away when they turned into his driveway. The two occupants jumped out of the Audi, neither dressed for the chill in the December air, and ran up the path to the door. Her long legs were bare from the knee down thanks to the black athletic tights, save the running shoes she'd not even bothered to tie; her slender torso was shielded from the wintry air by an oversized burgundy button down, no doubt belonging to the main behind her, and a black fleece jacket that swung loosely as she moved. He was no better off with the gray t-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders and navy basketball shorts slung low on his hips; the jacket held limp in his grasp and one tied tennis shoe.<p>

He opened the door for them and shook his head as they puffed out clouds of air in front of him. "She's sleeping, Katie. I told you she was fine."

"She was screaming, Daddy," Kate replied, brushing past him into the dim light and warm air of the foyer. She peeled the fleece off her shoulders and hung it on the hook before toeing off the shoes by the door. "You can't tell me she's fine when I can hear her in the background bawling and screaming for us." She huffed into her hands and scrubbed them together trying to take the chill off of her fingertips.

"You are your mother's daughter." Jim wrapped his arms around her and hugged tightly. "I can't count the number of times she came to bail you out of sleepovers when you were a child. The only place you would willingly spend the night was your grandmother's, and I think that was simply because she let you survive on candy and popsicles."

Rick chuckled behind them and hung his coat over hers and dropped his shoes off next to hers. "I think Meredith tried that tactic on Alexis, it never even crossed her mind that we had the only child in America who didn't love candy. I was a bad father and capitalized on that. I would use her adorable dimples and love of dress up to score candy for myself on Halloween."

"Katie wasn't allowed to carry her own candy bag after the age of five. We got home that year and the bag was full of wrappers. How long were you sick?"

"Days," she grinned, pulling away from him to move into the living room. "It was the best Halloween ever."

"How do you not hate candy after that, Kate?" Rick asked, trailing along behind her father.

"I did until Easter."

"Hardly," Jim laughed, sinking into his recliner. "You had completely forgotten about it by Christmas. You just didn't get enough candy to gorge yourself on to notice."

"Another plausible explanation," Rick teased, sitting in the far corner of the couch.

Kate pulled her knees up to her chest after she curled into Rick's side and then looked over at her father. "So, she's really okay?"

"If you had called to check on her five minutes later you never would've known. She was overtired, because we had too much fun at the museum today. I tried to tell you that, but all you let me get out before you hung up on me was about you not needing to drive all the way out here," he mock-scolded.

"I'm the overreacting parent aren't I?" she sighed and picked at the slight fraying in the hem of her leggings.

"You are your mother's daughter," he repeated, "in every way. She's upstairs in your room." He regarded her for a while with a slight smile and distant cloud in his eyes. "Now," he cleared his throat and stood up. "I'm old and going to bed. Lock up." Jim dropped a kiss on her head and clapped Rick on the shoulder as he passed them on his way to the stairs.

"You're not the overreacting parent," he whispered, tugging her back against his chest and burying his face in the place where her shoulder met her neck. "The overreacting parent wouldn't have noticed how quiet the house was. She would've just barged in and ran up the stairs. She wouldn't have let me get the car into park before she jumped out."

"She wouldn't have stopped long enough to put real clothes on?"

"That too," he grinned, pressing a soft kiss to the spot behind her ear.

Kate shifted backwards into his lap and twisted around until she was facing him. "I'm not a crazy mom?"

"No, Kate, you are not a crazy mom. You're an extraordinary mother," he whispered, pressing his forehead to hers and linking his fingers behind her neck; letting his thumbs stroke slow paths along her cheeks. "You always know just what she needs _and_ when she needs us. You two have this scary bond. She knows when you are crying, and you're up and out of the bed going after her before she ever makes a peep after a nightmare. I'm kind of jealous really. I used to think your silent conversations skill was only for me.

"You are a good mom, Kate, I promise. Don't get me started on how amazing you are with Alexis either. She's a different girl now that you are in her life. You give her that tough love I was never any good at and she's finally letting her hair down and acting her age. It's a beautiful thing, watching your child feel comfortable enough to make a mistake, to take a risk, to step out of her comfort zone." He pulled her face up and kissed her soundly. "Don't doubt your self Momma bear. Never doubt yourself."

"I'm kind of jealous of that," she murmured, slipping her hands around his back and tangling her fingers in the material of his shirt, "You always know just what to say."

"Must be the writer in me."

She grinned and tucked her head under his chin. "Must be."

Rick scanned the room and let his gaze land on the moonlit view out the windows in the back of the house. "It's beautiful out here. When did your dad move?" he asked as he allowed his hands to slide away from her face and blaze twin trails up and down the length of her back.

"After rehab. It was so weird at first. Seeing my room in another home. Seeing all of our stuff along different walls, but it was something he needed. It ended up being good for both of us. Our new normal, you know? I could come over and curl up on the couch just like I used to do with Mom, but I could breath. She wasn't everywhere here like she was in the city."

"This couch?"

"This couch. I think it was my freshman year when they got it. We would sit here and watch 'Temptation Lane' or she would hold me while I cried my eyes out over some boy. This is the couch they dumped me on when I came home drunk my senior year. This is the couch I..." She paused and shook her head. "No, that story is inappropriate for this conversation. This couch, the dishes in the kitchen, the bed Ella is sleeping in... it's all from the apartment."

"You got to keep all he good memories and let go of the rest. I get that, I really do." He stopped rubbing her back and found her gaze again. With a mischievous grin he spoke, "Now, this inappropriate story, you have to tell me. You know better than to dangle that in front of me."

"You mean you really want me to tell you that we're sitting on the couch I lost my virginity on? That the weekend before my junior prom I played hooky and snuck my grunge rocker boyfriend over to smoke pot with me on the balcony? That instead of getting the munchies we both found ourselves incredibly horny and that the couch was as far as we could make it? Do you really want me to tell you that story?" Her voice carried just enough of a teasing edge and her eyes were sparking with just enough humor that he wasn't exactly sure what to believe out of the story.

"Smart ass."

"I hate it, you know," she offered, focusing on the wall behind them.

"Hate what?" He tangled his fingers in her hair and hugged her close.

"That I was stoned out of my mind the first time I had sex? That it's a hazy memory of a giggle fit with a penis and a vagina and fumbling helplessly with a condom?" She snorted and dropped her forehead to his shoulder. "That he bit me so hard I didn't think the hickey was ever going to go away? I hate how it happened, I hate why it happened, and I hate who it happened with. Two things resulted from that disastrous adventure in sex: I never smoked another joint and I didn't sleep with anyone else until I was in the academy."

"Kate," he breathed, hugging her tighter still, "I had no idea."

"I wish I had just waited for you. It's always perfect with you." She released his shirt and wrapped her arms tighter around his sides, pulling herself in as close as she could get.

"I don't think my first time was much better. I also don't think Mother would approve of how pedestrian it was. I'd been seeing this girl for a while, and the furthest we'd ever gone was first base. It was like we were stuck in the fifties or something. We held hands and that was pretty much it. At least I thought so. I found out after she dumped me, which she waited to do until after she had her clothes back on, that I was the boyfriend she took home to mother. The other boyfriend she used for hot monkey sex. Kate, I swear to you the words that came out of her mouth were: You're a horrible fuck.

"Excuse me for not knowing what to do my first time out of the gate!" he groused quietly. "It wasn't long after that I got shipped off to boarding school. She hurt me like he hurt you though. I was put off on the thought of sex for a while. Then I thought I fell in love."

"Kyra."

"Yeah, Kyra."

"I like her. She was nice. I was jealous then, but looking back I can say I like her." She leaned back and linked her arms around his neck. "I especially liked her after she told me you were all mine."

Rick grinned and kissed the tip of her nose. "Sounds exactly like something she would say."

"I hate it when you do that. It makes my nose itch," she grumbled, loosing one arm from around his neck and using the freed hand to cover her nose up.

"You're beautiful." He cupped her cheek and stretched his other arm across the back of the couch.

"There you go with those perfect words again," she said, sliding back onto the couch and throwing her legs across his lap. She pulled her face from his grasp and rested her head against the forearm behind her. "Are you gonna kiss me or what?"

Her perfectly predatory smile was in place and the added eyebrow quirk were all the invitation he needed. Rick shifted toward her and captured her lips in a lingering kiss. He wasn't seeking to deepen it and and neither was she, though she occasionally nipped at his bottom lip. His hands were even behaving; one in her hair and the other tracing lazy circles on her thigh. Hers were fisted loosely in his shirt holding them both in place. They were content to sit there and share their slow, sweet kisses for the time being.

"Woah, sorry. Sorry. Sorry." Jim slammed his palm up over his eyes and halted in his tracks on the bottom stair. "I was just coming down for a glass of water. Sorry. Sorry."

She pressed her face into the crook of Rick's elbow and let the red creep up her face. He simply tried to look anywhere but at Kate or her father. Finally, Jim ventured into the room and shuffled quickly past them, skirting around the far the side of the coffee table. Kate couldn't contain herself and burst into laughter. It was a free laugh, an infectious laugh, and it was one of Rick's favorite sounds.

They sobered when Jim re-entered the room with his glass of water. The three were locked in an awkward stand off. No one could talk. No one could blink. No one could move. Jim slowly edged his way back across the room, turning his back on them as he passed. Everyone exhaled when he finally eased his way up the stairs.

"Your Dad just caught us making out."

"That was not us making out and you know it. He caught us kissing. Big difference. Huge difference. He wouldn't have survived us making out."

His face paled as he remembered what happens when they make out; skin gets exposed, clothing gets removed, hands travel... He gulped, "You're right."

"Why was it so weird? We've kissed in front of him before. Hell, there was more tongue at the wedding," she sighed and turned her face up to meet his eyes.

"You."

"Me?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.

"Should dance with me."

"Now?"

"Yes, Kate, now. Come on," he insisted, standing up and dragging her up to her feet.

"Rick..." She pulled back on him as he easily moved her across the room to her father's stereo.

"Shhh," he whispered, pressing a finger against her lips. A decision he quickly found himself regretting; she bit him. "Ow. Mean."

"Then don't tell me to hush," she shot back, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You're cute when you're mad." He paused. "Scratch that, you're cute all the time."

"You're pushing your luck, mister." She softened and stepped closer to him. "Are we going to dance or what?"

"Motherhood has made you mushy," he teased, wrapping his left arm tightly around her and drawing her closer. With his right, he reached behind and himself and flipped the stereo on; turning the volume down low. They swayed together slowly as the song faded out and another began.

_I love everything about you_  
><em>I love the way you comb your hair<em>  
><em>And I love the way you sachet in the room<em>  
><em>Your perfume lingers in the air<em>  
><em>I love everything about you<em>  
><em>Whoa, about you<em>  
><em>Mmm-mmm<em>

"I swear I didn't plan this."

"I'm sure," she teased, nuzzling into his chest.

_I love the way you lick your lips, dear_  
><em>You got fireworks in your head<em>  
><em>And I love the way you bring me water<em>  
><em>When I'm thirsty in your bed<em>  
><em>I love everything about you<em>  
><em>Whoa, about you<em>  
><em>Mmm-mmm<em>

Kate snorted and wound her arms around his middle.

"I prefer your lip biting."

_You were surely kissed by angels_  
><em>Look at the freckles on your face<em>  
><em>You got the devil in your eyes<em>  
><em>You disappear without a trace<em>

"I don't have any freckles, Rick."

"Overrated," he whispered, leaning in to press a kiss to the tiny beauty mark below her left eye. "Definitely seen the devil before though."

_I love sneaking up behind you_  
><em>When you're looking in the mirror<em>  
><em>The way your eyes lock in to mine, dear<em>  
><em>Without guilt and without fear<em>  
><em>I love everything about you<em>  
><em>Whoa, about you<em>  
><em>Mmm-mmm<em>

"You can't sneak."

Rick grinned and leaned down to kiss her. "Quit focusing on the details."

"Detective. It's in my nature."

"My story. Your logic."

"Ruining it, I know."

"Mommy?" Ella stood on the third step, teddy bear dragging on the stairs behind her. She scrubbed at her eyes and yawned.

"Hey, baby girl," Kate smiled brightly and untangled herself from Rick to go to the little girl.

"We home?" Ella asked, yawning as Kate picked her up and snuggled her close.

"No, we're at Péré's," Kate answered, carrying the sleepy three-year-old over towards Rick.

"Why?"

"We missed you. Mommy and I couldn't sleep without you."

"Oh." Ella yawned again and let her head fall heavily onto Kate's shoulder. "Love Ella?" she murmured, tangling the fingers of her free hand in her mother's hair.

"Love Ella," he responded, reaching out to pull both girls into a hug.

"Love Ella," Kate repeated. "Let's get you back to bed, Peanut."

"Nnn," she whined, "no peanut. 'llergic."

Rick grinned, "Yeah, you're allergic, and Mommy is right, it's bedtime."

"Snuggles?" The tiniest of lisps accented the question.

"We'll stay for snuggles. Let Daddy have your bear." She waited while Rick pried the animal from the child's grasp and then turned to him. "I want to do this again."

"Dance with me in your father's living room?"

"Well, yeah, but before that. A baby."


	2. Sugar Rush

Notes: So this is I guess a follow up to part one, but I am now changing this story into a series of one shots (maybe two-shots like this one XD). They'll be family centric. Not necessarily in any kind of chronological order, just whatever Ella fic happens to strike me. :) I hope you guys enjoy this one. I wrote everything but the bolded parts. Nikki (Hallow777) wrote those because I was lazy and muse-less and unable to find a good transition to the actual making-out part of the story. That is about as close to smut as I will probably ever get to writing, so enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle. Only Ella.

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><p>"I gots-ed to wait tree more minutes afore I can wake you up, Mommy. Péré said I has to wait," Ella cheered from her spot on Kate's stomach. Kate groaned but smiled at the little girl nonetheless.<p>

"Maybe you should let Mommy sleep then, Baby Bear," Rick said, pulling her off onto his chest.

"Mommy sleep. Look. Her eyes is close-ed."

Kate snuggled closer to Rick and tugged Ella down into the space between them. She cracked one eye open and flattened her palm over Ella's belly. "Time for the tickle monster!" Kate crowed before launching into her attack.

Ella shrieked in laughter and wriggled and wiggled and squirmed to get away. "Mommy! No tickles! No tickles! Please!"

Kate stopped and pulled the her closer. "Okay, I'm done. I want my morning snuggles now."

"My fab-o-rite," Ella grinned. "Daddy Bear snuggles us too?"

"Oh yeah!" Rick answered, pulling his girls into a fierce bear hug.

"We needs Lexis. We go see?" Ella begged, wiggling around she was nose to nose with Rick.

"After we get home," he promised, giving her an eskimo kiss.

"I go checks break-a-tists. Up, please."

They released her and watched her scramble off the bed, her brown curls wild and her pajama pants twisted around to one side.

"She gets that from you."

Kate snorted and buried her face in his shoulder. "No way Writer-Man. I'm not _that_ cheery in the mornings. Not ever. Maybe she gets its from Alexis?"

"Definitely," he agreed, pulling her face up for a good morning kiss.

"Mmmm, now I'm feeling cheery," she murmured, letting her eyelids flutter closed.

"Must be the coffee I smell."

"I'm sure that that's exactly what it is... I was serious, you know? Last night?"

"How many?"

Kate just shrugged in response. "I'm starving. Let's go see what my dad made us." She pushed herself upright and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

"Kate." He sat up behind her and pulled her backwards. "I want this too. Another little you running around us? I'm all for that."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, Kate. If you want another baby, I'm game. If you want ten more, well, I'm game for that too," he promised, hugging her body to him. "I want you to have the world."

"I don't need ten. A couple more will do just fine." She melted into his embrace and let him tumble back against the sheets with her.

"You don't want your own baseball team?"

"No way, but if you figure out how to make them stay babies longer go for it," she replied, rolling over and propping up on her elbows to look at him.

"When do we start?" he asked, reaching over and weaving his fingers through her hair.

"As soon as possible," she joked, making a mock-seductive face at him.

"**Well you know, Ella and your dad **_**are**_** busy in the kitchen..." He trailed off with a smirk as he started to lean over to kiss her, but she stopped him with a firm hand on his chest.**

"**Nuh uh, not going to happ-" Kate didn't get a chance to finish her sentence before Rick grabbed her hand and pulled on it, causing her to slide closer to him. His lips were on hers instantly and whatever she had been about to say flew out the window as his tongue easily slipped inside her mouth. A moan escaped hers and he pulled her closer, still keeping a hold of her arm with one hand while the other moved to tangle itself in her hair. It didn't take him long to decide that she needed to be closer, but to do that he needed his other hand so he finally let her arm go.**

**As soon as her arm was free, she used it to shove his shoulder so he would roll over fully on his back as she quickly climbed on top of him to straddle him, her thighs on either side of his. Their lips immediately found one another again and now that both of her arms were free, she put them to good use. One of her hands glided up to rest on the back of his neck while the other started traveling down south, playing with the hem of his boxers, but never quite going under it. Rick's hands hadn't been still either, one was resting on her hip, just inside the waistband of her leggings, while the other was slowly making it's way up the back of her shirt, dragging it upwards.**

"Door is open," she protested weakly between kisses.

"Shh," he admonished, capturing her lips again.

She groaned as his hand skittered across her ribs, making gooseflesh to erupt all over her body and a delicious tingle to travel up her spine. "But..." she trailed off and sighed as his lips travelled up her jawline to nip at her earlobe before settling into the spot that behind her that turned her legs into jelly. Kate snapped at the elastic of his boxers, trying desperately to hold onto some small amount of control in the situation. Her actions only served to drive him crazier.

His suckling lips moved further down the column of her neck, eliciting tiny moans that sent his body into overload. His hands got bolder, his mouth got a little more aggressive, and his hips ground against hers.

"We... can't..." she breathed, trying her hardest to summon even the smallest amount of willpower.

"Can," he grunted, switching to the other side of her neck.

"No... not fair." She sucked in a sharp breath as his wandering hand slid around the side of her body and dug in against the sot flesh of her ribcage. "Rick," she tried again, "not fair. To make him clean up our sex mess."

"Stop. Talking," he growled, attacking her mouth with his own once again, probing at her kiss-bruised lips with his tongue.

She let her long fingers slide up his chest until she could wrap her arms around his neck. Giving one good solid rock she rolled them until he was on top. She hitched her leg over his hip and used one of her hands to pop a button open on her shirt, giving no thought to her warnings of open doors and her father and daughter being only a floor away. She let her hands slide down the back of his boxers to hold him closer to her anxious mouth.

"Katie, Rick, Breakfast is... Oh God, not again... Sorry. Sorry. Sorry." He turned around and went back the way he came muttering about needing eye bleach and mind erasers.

"Péré, I am hung-a-ry. We has our pangakes now?" Ella asked, waiting impatiently at the bottom of the stairs.

"Yes, we can have pancakes now. You can have _anything_ you want on them. I have gummi worms... I could crush up Oreos for you... you can have lots of extra syrup... whatever you want," he promised, thinking an unmanageable sugar high would be just the punishment for the two heart attacks his daughter had tried to give him in the last 12 hours.

"Jelly! I wants rawberry jelly. Wif h-whipped creams on top. Can I has pinkah milkah too?" Ella trailed along behind him dragging her bear.

"You got it little lady. It's Péré's job to spoil you rotten, and spoil you I will."

"Shall," Ella corrected off-handedly, climbing up into her booster seat at the table. "Yous 'posed to say shall when you says I."

"Smarty-pants."

"Mommy taughted me that." Ella beamed brightly at her grandfather who was busy preparing her plate.

"She is pretty smart sometimes," he said, presenting her plate and sippy cup of strawberry milk with a flourish. "You eat up."

"Yessir, Péré sir." She saluted with her purple plastic fork and dug in, pausing only to wash the sugary mess down with her milk and greet her red-faced parents when they came down several minutes later- walking very far apart.

"Morning Daddy," Kate greeted, going for non-chalance and casually ignoring the elephant in the room in favor of pouring herself a cup of coffee. Rick was trying to become one with the door frame.

Jim nodded and went over to refill Ella's cup.

Several hours later Kate flopped down onto their couch at home and mashed a pillow over her face. Rick fell down face first and practically on top of her, using her stomach as his own pillow.

"I could kill him. I really could." Her voice was muffled by the pillow but the menacing tone was still very recognizable.

Rick just nodded into her stomach before tilting his head slightly to the left. "I'll hide the body for you," he grumbled.

Ella had just crashed a few minutes ago from an hours long sugar rush that had left her running on 11 for the duration of their drive home and bouncing off of every surface in the loft in a full-tilt boogie after they got there.

"Too tired to make babies right now. Can we just cuddle?" Rick asked, dragging himself up along the length of her body.

'Mmm, yes, but I want to be on top."

"Bed?"

"Too far," she mumbled, scooting around so he could get on his back.

"Wait, blanket." He groped around under the couch for the familiar feel of fleece and grabbed it once the fuzzy blanket found his fingertips.

Kate collapsed against his shoulder and hooked both her arm and leg over his body, anchoring him to her. He managed to get the blanket spread out over them and snuggled in closer to her as they both fell into a much needed nap.

Ella shook his free shoulder as hard as she could. "Daddy, Daddddddddddddyyyyyy, Dad-dy," she chanted.

"Wha? Huh? Izzera body?"

"I doesn't feel good, Daddy Bear. Tummy is hur-ting. Make it all better?"

Kate hooked her arm under the little girl's shoulders and hauled her up into the snuggle pile. "C'mon Baby Bear."

Ella cuddled in and smiled as her eyes drifted shut. "Fanks."

"Always."

Ella was quiet for a while and just as both adults were slipping back into their own naps she spoke again, "Can I has a bruvver? I wants to call him Baby Dine-o-saur."


	3. Peanuts In A Bottle at 10 2 and 4

Notes: Episode three. Short, but I think still kinda sweet. It's a nod to chapter one. Can you find it?

Disclaimer: If I owned Castle I wouldn't be begging for school money.

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><p>Kate let a breathy sigh escape between her lips and burrowed further back against her husband's solid chest. They'd been napping on the couch, back to chest, for the better part of two hours. His arms were locked tightly around her middle and his face was buried in her shoulder. She lay clutching a small slip of paper to her chest. The edges were crinkled from her tight grip, but she'd held onto it like that from the time it was handed to her.<p>

Her world had been rocked three days ago, and today it had been turned completely on its side and jumbled up. It didn't quite seem real. It didn't quite seem solid. At least not until 9:53 A.M. that morning. Kate sighed again as her eyes fluttered open and her fingers relaxed their death grip. She smoothed her thumb over the creases and wiggled in his arms until she was on her back.

"Peanut."

"Hmm?" she answered lazily, not quite ready to stop looking at it.

"We should call it Peanut. It looks like a peanut," he replied, hooking his chin over her shoulder and poking at the gray blob in the center of the picture.

"We're not calling our baby, Peanut."


	4. Beneath The Light of a Neon Moon

Notes: So, I'm thinking I was a bit too subtle in the last piece. That was Ella in the ultrasound. In chapter one I had Kate call her Peanut, so Becks obviously lost that argument at some point. :/ Anyway, like I said in chapter 2 this is going to jump around and not all of it will be in kind of linear order. This piece does follow from chapter 3 though. It could be a day later, it could be a week later, but yeah.

Disclaimer: I own Castle DVDs and a t-shirt not the show.

* * *

><p>"My boobs hurt," Kate complained, gingerly adjusting herself and then the bra. "They haven't hurt like this since they first showed up."<p>

"Huh?" Rick asked distractedly, he was far too focused on all of the skin in front of him.

"Puberty, idiot." She turned and flicked his forehead, before heading off to the closet to grab her clothes for the day.

He shook his head and followed her from the bathroom to the closet. "They um... hurt when they're..."

"Growing? Yes," she answered, buttoning her purple plaid shirt- one that she was sure fit her better yesterday.

"I had no idea. That it hurt when they... Anyway, I'm sorry. That they hurt." He stepped towards her to draw her into a hug.

"You can't say it," she teased, side stepping him and pulling on a pair of jeans, the ones she reserved for that time of the month.

"Say what?"

"Boobs. You can't say boobs." She buttoned the pants and yanked up the zipper.

"Can too!" he defended, indignation written all across his features.

"Then say it," she purred, slipping past him, boots in hand.

"Wha... no."

"You really can't say it. It's kind of cute." She plopped onto the bed and cocked her head to the side to watch him get dressed.

"Why do you need me to say it?" he shot back, stepping into his own slacks.

"To prove to me that you aren't a giant prude. Not those, I don't like those."

Rick sighed and looked at her. "Is that true or are you just trying to keep me half-naked longer?"

"It can't be both?" She gave him a wicked smile and set about putting her boots on.

Rick slipped the pants off and put them back on the hanger before perusing his side of the closet once more. "Do these meet your approval?" He held up another pair.

"Yes. That pair does amazing things to your ass, so Momma likey." She zipped her boot up and rolled the pants leg down, moving on to the other foot for the same treatment.

"As you wish," he answered with flourish, owning the Martha Rodgers side of himself completely.

"You still haven't said boobs." She zipped the other boot up and moved over to her jewelry box on the dresser.

He snuck up behind her after he'd grabbed a shirt and whispered 'boobs' in her ear before locking her arms at her sides with a backwards hug. "Happy now?"

She locked eyes with him in the mirror and leaned back. "Very."

"I'm glad." He let one of his hands ghost over her stomach to rest low on her softening, but still flat, abdomen.

"Feed us."

"As you wish," he repeated, loosening his grip and letting her get her footing back before stepping away.

She finished getting ready for work and he went into the kitchen to fix them something for breakfast.

Kate met him ten minutes later as he poured an indecent amount of syrup on his own stack of pancakes.

She grabbed a fork and hopped up on the counter to spear a cut strawberry as he poured more batter into the sizzling pan. "We need to tell Alexis," she spoke after a while, her voice quite and nervous sounding to her own ears.

"She'll be fine with it." He sensed her apprehension.

"No. It was one thing to ask her to be okay with us getting married, but it's another thing entirely to ask her to be okay with you knocking me up. She could hate me for this."

"She won't hate you." He killed the heat under the pancakes and turned to stand between her knees. "You know she won't. You were there when she asked how long we were going to wait because _she_ was getting too old for the waiting game. She will be thrilled."

"Promise?"

"I promise." He cupped her cheek and placed a feather light kiss on her lips before continuing, "You two should go shopping today. After we tell her."

"Why?"

"As much as I love you, I can't handle the way that shirt is fighting to contain your boobs. It's time, Kate."

"Is that the nice way of saying I'm fat?" She pushed him back and crossed her arms across her chest, causing her shirt to strain even more.

"No, it's my way of saying you are too sexy for your shirt." He turned back to his pancakes, satisfied that he was safe. He turned the heat back on and frowned when a handful of strawberries splattered against his back, several clearing his shoulder to land in the pancake batter with a dull plop. "What was that for?"

"Not telling your only child that she wasn't your only child before now, and for not checking to see if I was in the room before saying _that_. Seriously Dad, Right Said Fred?"

"What's wrong with Right Said Fred?" Rick asked turning to face his daughter.

"The best you could come up with was a one-hit wonder? Honestly, I thought you were cooler than that. I mean you're Richard Castle, Dad," Alexis challenged, reaching for the bowl in case she needed to rearm.

"Could you two have your food fight over there? I'd like to eat breakfast at some point this morning." Kate hopped off the counter and hip checked her husband away from the stove.

"Clean up the strawberries, Dad." Alexis grinned and grabbed his plate of pancakes off the island, scurrying off towards the table to wolf them down.

"Not cool, Baby Bird. Not at all."

"Says the man who fixed himself a plate of food before he made sure his pregnant wife was fed," Alexis replied cooly. "Have you guys been to doctor's yet? Are there pictures? Please say there are pictures."

Rick scooped up the last of the strawberry mess on the floor and dumped the mush in the trash before taking the spatula from Kate. "I got this," he whispered, "Go gloat Momma bear."

She slid away from him with a grin and went in search of the glossy ultrasound photo that she hadn't cuddled to death. "Here you go. This is the only one still in good condition. The other two are all wrinkled up. It's still kind of surreal," Kate offered as she handed Alexis the ultrasound photo and took the seat next to her. "So, that's Peanut."

"Because it looks like a peanut," he supplied, scraping the ruined pancakes into the trash and starting a new batch.

"Oh my god, you guys already named it that is so cute!" Alexis squealed.

"Wanna know how I won her over? I told her it was better than calling the baby 'it.' Am I amazing or what?"

"Yeah, whatever, Dad," she waved him off and turned her attentions back to Kate. "So, do you want a girl or a boy?"

"I'm still waiting for it to seem real. I haven't really thought that far in advance," she admitted, shaking her head and smiling.

"Dad told me Meredith refused to accept that I was real until I was born. Some could argue she's still in denial."

"Her loss," Kate replied immediately.

"Definitely her loss," Rick agreed, sliding a plate in front of Kate.

"Thanks." Kate worked on her own breakfast while Alexis studied the ultrasound and ate her pancakes.

"I think I want a sister. I know it's a bit late for requests, but... yeah."

"I don't do the special ordering, he does." Kate jerked her thumb at Rick. "Do you want to go shopping? I promise not to drag you off to Timbuktu."

"I'd love to, but if we do go..." she sighed, "There's no nice way to say this. If we're going you need to put on a different shirt. People don't make eye contact with you enough as it is, and that shirt is just a big flashing 'Hey, look at my boobs!' sign right now."

"A big flashing neon sign. I can see it, so you can trust me on this one," Rick added very seriously.


	5. Brontosaurus by The Move

Notes: In which Mogie outs herself as a Fringie... again. Nikki named him, and I squeed when she picked the name out. I like how chill Kate actually is about the whole thing. I'm pretty happy with this one I hope you guys like it and find all my Fringe moments. XD

Disclaimer: Not mine.

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><p>"DADDY! DADDY! DADDY! DADDDDDDY!" Ella yelled, careening around the corner and into his office. "DADDY! MOMMY! BABY DINE-O-SAUR! HURRY!" She paused for a gulp of air before running out the other door and continuing her hunt for Rick. She slid past the kitchen island in her socked feet and scrambled up the stairs nearly on all fours. "DADDY!" she called out again. "DADDY!"<p>

Ella shoved open doors as she ran up the hallway. Finding no one upstairs she carefully made her way back down to her mother in the master bedroom.

"Mommy, Daddy isssin here. Where's Daddy? Is Baby Dine-o-saur gon' be okay? Mommy, what I do?"

"Go get my phone. It's in there on the counter," Kate gritted out, pointing towards the bathroom and pressing her back against the bed frame. She hissed as the contraction hit it's peek and let out a shaky breath after it passed. "Thanks Elle, go put your shoes on and get your bear." Kate smiled when the little girl handed her the phone and quickly scrolled to her most recent calls list.

"Den what?"

"Come back in here and sit with me."

"'Tay," Ella answered, scurrying back off again.

Kate pressed the pad of her thumb over Rick's number and then quickly flicked the phone into speaker mode. She drummed her fingers along the edge of the nightstand as the line rang. She growled at the phone when his voicemail picked up and went back into the call list to try her Dad, who had been in the city that morning finishing up a week of guest-lecturing for an old friend and colleague of Johanna's, a Dr. Bishop.

"Please still be in town. Please..." She flipped the phone back onto speaker and reaching out to Ella who was standing silently in the doorway hugging her bear.

"Scareded, Mommy," she whispered, slipping down to the floor next to Kate and snuggling into her side.

"I know you are, but it's gonna be okay."

"Katie-bug, you caught me just as I was leaving. What's up?"

She could hear the sounds of a car unlocking, and a door opening. "So you're still in town?"

"I am. What's wrong?" he asked, sliding into the seat and pulling the car door shut. The dull thud carrying over the line.

"You should really come over right now. I can't get Rick on the phone and I – oh God..." she choked back the scream that was bubbling up in her throat as the contraction hit.

"Kate? Katie? Talk to me, baby," Jim pleaded, turning the engine over, buckling his seat belt, and directing his car away from the university parking lot and towards the loft.

"It's da baby, Père. Mommy tolded me to get Daddy and to tell him it was time to go, but he issin here. I'm scareded."

"I'm on my way, Ella. Tell her I'm on my way." Jim cut off the phone call and began driving a bit more aggressively.

"Père's on his way Mommy. It be okay soon."

Kate just nodded and tried Rick's number again. She was about to hang up again when his voice floated over the line. "And to think I was just talking about you."

"Stop talking about me and get home now, before I have this baby without you."

"Oh. Oh. Oh! OH! OH God. Okay. Um. Stay calm. I'll just... Oh God. Oh God. What do I do? Okay. I'll call your Dad and Lanie and the doctor and..."

"Rick."

"And you just stay calm..."

"Rick."

"And I'll be right there..."

"Rick!"

"What?"

"Just shut up and get here. My dad is already on his way. I'll do the dialing, because I'm apparently more level-headed than you are right now."

"Right. Just get to you. Got it. I can do that. I'm actually pretty good at that. I'm leaving now. Should I... No, stupid question forget I almost asked it. Is Ella there?"

"Shut. Up. We're going to talk about why you aren't here right now later."

"In trouble," he answered, trying to decide if he should run home or flag down a taxi.

"Oh yes, you are. You never get to touch me again," she ground out as another contraction ripped through her middle.

He opted to run home and hung up with a quick declaration of his love.

Kate finished playing phone tag and sat back snuggled up with Ella to wait for the men in her life to arrive.

"Momma?" Ella asked, rubbing her hand lightly over Kate's stomach.

"Hmmm?" She brushed her fingers through Ella's hair and kissed her forehead.

"Dine-o-saur okay? Nuffin bad happ-nin to Hammy?"

"Nothing bad, Ellie-bear. Dunham is just ready to meet his big sister," Kate soothed, nuzzling the top of Ella's head.

"Katie! Where are you, Katie?" Jim yelled, sliding his keys from the door and back into his pocket.

"Go get Père." Kate sent Ella towards the door and set about struggling her way up off the floor.

"Père! Père! In here!"

Jim came in huffing behind Ella and stopped cold when he saw Kate in the floor. "What... Did you fall, Katie? Oh... Come on, let's get you up."

"I didn't fall, Daddy," she gritted out, begrudgingly accepting his arm for leverage as she tried to heave herself up off the floor. "It's just... as far as I could make it."

"Do what now? Not my baby," he grinned, getting her settled against the headboard of the bed.

"Okay you know what, when you get a uterus you can start cracking the jokes, but it isn't as easy as it looks to walk while your body is trying to _expel_ another human being," she growled, gripping his arm as another contraction started.

"How far apart are they sweetie?" he asked, brushing her hair back from her face.

"Ten minutes or so? I haven't really been timing them. I was pre-occupied, with not traumatizing my four-year-old," she said pointedly, leveling a glare at him.

"Labor pains are not an excuse for getting smart with your old man, young lady. Shouldn't you be all zen about this anyway? Your Aunt Nina said the second time was a piece of cake."

"She was also a compulsive liar," Kate shot right back.

"Fair enough."

"Père, up?" Ella asked, struggling to claw her way up onto the bed.

He boosted her up and sat on the edge alongside Kate's legs. "What do you need me to do?"

"Still scareded." Ella whispered, snuggling back into her mother's side. "You scareded?"

"There's a bag in the coat closet out there. Get it out and then go upstairs. Everything should be sitting in the car seat, just bring it down." Jim nodded and left the room to go gather it all up for her. She turned her attention to Ella. "I'm not scared. I'm just ready."

"KATE! KATE!" Kate heard a dull thud and then the sound of a heavy body hitting the floor.

"Daddy felled down, dinnint he?"

"Yes," she sighed, "he did."

"Kate!" he panted, bracing himself on the doorframe. "Ran. Fell. Need to breathe. Can't."

She rolled her eyes and looked over at Ella. "What are we going to do with him?"

Ella shrugged and slid off the side of the bed to go over to him. "WHERE WERE YOU? I WAS SCAREDED!"

"I went to get you girls some lunch. You were napping, all snuggled up in the bed over there with Mommy," he answered, nudging her back towards the bed as he spoke. He directed the next question to his wife. "How are you? I didn't think that you would go into labor while I was out, sorry."

"I'll be fine if you get me to the hospital. I want the good drugs before it's too late." She pushed herself away from the headboard and let him help her up.

"We goina get Hammy now?"

"Come on munchkin, you can help me carry the bags." Jim scooped the little girl up and whisked her back to the front door where he handed her the small bag packed with baby clothes. "You want to ride with me?"

"Yes, but I walk. You needs bof hanns." Ella squirmed out of his grip and started out the door with her little bag.

"Don't you take another step out that door Ella Grace," Jim warned, grabbing his own quarry and getting it all adjusted.

"Sorry, Père, I is just egg-cited to go get Hammy."

Jim looked back as his daughter and son-in-law. "I need to know, why does she keep calling him Hammy? I thought you told me you were naming him Peter."

"Pe-ter Dunham," Ella said, "and I wants my Hammy lets go!" She stomped her foot and pointed to the hallway.


	6. The Ballad of Serenity

Notes: This one is full of randomness. In one breath I mention the Powerpuff Girls AND Batman. Nikki edited it for me, go her, she's awesome. This was also her suggestion, baby Ella. If you care to leave a review see if you can figure out why I named the bear Rookie. It's two-fold. ;) Other fun references too, at least to me. XD

Disclaimers: If I owned any part of this show I would be chilling on a beach somewhere in SoCal soaking up sun while I made money. I don't, so I'm not.

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><p>Ella gurgled happily in her bouncer, she'd just spent the last thirty minutes being thoroughly entertained by the teddy bear sitting on the coffee table in front of her. Next to the table was a laundry basket, full to the brim with socks needing matching and shirts needing folding. She was supposed to have been helping mommy get the laundry finished, but she'd proved to be a force of cute that was just too cute to be ignored. It had started with cheek mashing.<p>

Ella had discovered that the most delightful noise was produced when she mimicked her man-child father and pressed all the air out of her puffed up cheeks. She would mash and then laugh. Smash and then giggle. Mush and then be in stitches. Kate had buckled her into the bouncer to keep tabs on her; she wasn't quite crawling, but she could disappear fast. Every other matched pair of socks was rewarded with a glance to the occupied seven-month-old. The laundry was quickly forgotten and Kate shifted her full attention to her little girl.

"What are you doing over there, Peanut? Huh?" she asked, propping her elbow up on edge of the couch and resting her head against her palm. "You sound like Daddy."

Ella stopped her noise making to stare at her mother with wide green eyes. Who needed fun noises when one of your two favorite people in the world was talking to you? She gave a squeal and clapped excitedly, throwing her arms forward wanting to be picked up.

"I swear, you have me wrapped all around your little fingers," Kate teased, unbuckling her and lifting her out. "Yes you do."

Ella beamed her toothless grin and wiggled happily in her mother's embrace. She babbled to her in a language that only other babies or mad men with blue boxes could understand. She was probably going on about how to help Star Command defeat the Evil Emperor Lord Zurg or perhaps she was telling her mother how to achieve faster than light travel; either way Kate was completely enamored by the dimples on the little cherub in her lap.

"Definitely your father's daughter. Such a little story teller you are!" she cooed, reaching into the laundry basket for the freshly laundered teddy bear Ella loved so much. "Look, Ella, here's Rookie! He's been waiting all day for your slobbers. He said it was so lonely and wet in the washing machine and the dryer was even worse." She nuzzled the bear into Ella's chest and grinned when she recieved an excited giggle in response.

Ella gummed on Rookie's ear and hugged him tight, enjoying the tickle of his soft fuzz against her nose and the gentle resistance his seams provided to her sore gums. Poor Rookie had been to the washing machine so many times for slobber removals that his left foot and his right ear had to be stitched back onto the rest of his body. He'd kept her from fussing though, and great lengths were gone to keep him in good shape.

"You're gonna chew his ear right off, little missy," she said, brushing her daughter's unruly curls back off of her forehead and surpetitously checking for a fever. "And he can't yell 'Apples!' to tell you to stop," she added as an afterthought, somehow knowing that her husband was watching them from the door to his study.

"That's _my_ safe word."

"Then by all means Mr. Backstory, please tell us what Rookie's safe word really is." Her expression was one of faux interest, but her eyes sparkled nonetheless.

"Papayas. Rookie's safe word is Papayas," he explained, moving into the room and sitting down on the floor next to her.

"Papayas?"

"Papayas," he confirmed, reaching over and ruffling the curls Kate had just tamed on their daughter's head.

"That was uncalled for," she warned, smoothing the hair back into place and giving the bear a gentle tug.

Ella gurgled around Rookie's ear and held on tighter, getting fist fulls of fur and tugging back on him. It quickly turned into an almost-game of tug-o-war.

"Our little Castle baby is kind of the most adorable thing ever," Rick commented, put his arm over Kate's shoulder and scooting in closer.

"You spend way too much time on the phone with Madison."

"I can't help it if she calls looking for you while you are out saving Manhattan from the Mojo JoJos and the Jokers our fair city has to offer."

"Wow, Powerpuff Girls and Batman all in one sentence. You've been saving that one up haven't you?"

"Little ears, you know? It sounded better than telling someone if someone tried to kill you then you needed to try and kill them right back."

"Captain Tightpants, my hero," she deadpanned, giving him the obligatory eye roll. "You should probably go get started on dinner, before the little miss and I revolt and head out for pizza."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, feed the wife. I know the routine." He noisly kissed her cheek, pleased when Ella laughed at the sound, and rose from his seat on the hardwood. "I'm so getting too old for that."

"I'm not gonna say a thing," Kate answered, placing Ella back in her bouncer and prying the bear out of her grip.

"What would you like for dinner?" he asked, ignoring the not-jab she just threw at him.

"Surprise me, but not with an experiment." She buckled Ella back in and sat the bear on the edge of the coffee table so she could go back to her laundry. "Will you bring some juice back for her and the motrin? She's getting warm again."

"You need anything?"

"Nah." She watched him walk away and then called after him, "Hey."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." She smiled warmly and went back to matching the unreasonable amount of socks that had come out of the laundry that day.

"Always."


	7. Go, Go Power Rangers

Notes: So for the past day or so I have watched nothing but Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. My first ship ever you guys, Kimberly and Tommy. Back before I even knew what shipping was. I'm taking this opportunity to completely ignore some key Ranger canon, for the most part, and put them in a Caskett fic. Simply because I can. Time for some Tomberly you guys. I'm also going with the theory that Angel Grove is a suburb of Los Angeles.

Disclaimers: I own nothing.

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><p>Kate glanced around the busy room and decided it was best to just wait for Rick to find her. The last time they'd played this "Let's meet up" game, they spent an hour looking for each other and spent most of the time walking in circles around the other. She made her way over to the nearest bench and took a seat at the end, scooting as far back as she could.<p>

"I know the feeling exactly," the petite brunette in the middle of bench said; she was gently sliding a stroller back and forth with her foot as she spoke.

"I'm sorry?" Kate asked, perplexed.

"My husband does the dinosaur thing, and I usually just have to wait for him to find me. I sicced the boys on him today though, so he won't be quite so... He zones out, you know? He can do one display for an hour." She briefly turned her attention back to the sleeping baby before continuing, "So I've figured out it's best to just turn him loose and let him have his fun while I sit it out. Now that the boys are big enough to actually care he takes them too. Dreams really do come true."

"Sounds like we both married overgrown children," Kate joked, instantly at ease in the presence of the pink-clad mother of at least three. "Mine came to do some research for a book."

"We should set them up for a play date. I'm Kim," the woman introduced herself and held a hand out.

"Kate," she returned, accepting the proffered hand. "She's a cutie."

"Yeah, my little Annie. Fourth time is the charm. Not that I minded giving the man three sons, but I was drowning in it. There is only so much boy a girl can handle. I'm just excited to have pink in the house again," she joked. "What about you, do you know yet?"

Kate looked down and crossed her arms over her rounded stomach, cradling it against her. "No, we don't know yet. My husband was laughing about it actually, me not wanting to find out, he says it goes against every last one of my Type A quirks." She grinned and looked back over at the woman. "I don't care either way though. As long as Peanut is healthy."

"That's cute. Tommy called our first Kidney Bean. So dorky I know, but I'd expect nothing less of him."

Kate laughed loudly. "Sounds exactly like Rick. We really do need to set our husbands up for a play date. They shouldbe the best of friends. Rick needs more willing laser tag players."

"Laser tag?"

"Did I mention that my husband is a nine-year-old? On a sugar rush?"

"I caught Tommy playing dinosaurs the other day... the boys were all napping," Kim offered, running her fingers through her hair. "I think I have five children. One just happens to have a PhD."

"When I met Rick, his daughter was definitely the parent in their relationship. She passed that mantle off to me after she took of to California for college."

"Where in California? Total California girl here!" Kim asked excitedly.

"Paolo Alto, she's at Stanford."

"Angel Grove myself. Good old SoCal, I totally miss it. It's nothing like New York."

"Oh yeah, I've been out to L.A. a few times with Rick. We've never really gotten the chance to explore though. The palm trees were the first thing I noticed," Kate chuckled.

"The snow. Tommy took his position up here in the middle of winter. We were moving with a three-year-old, a ten-month-old, and two feet of snow on the ground. And my mother having a cross country bitchfest, 'Now I'll never get to see my grandbabies. Why do you always do this to me, Kimberly? Why do you hate me so much?' She was over it in about three weeks," Kim explained, with an impressive eye roll.

"My dad lives an hour outside of the city, and he's taken to calling me daily for updates. I think he's seriously considering moving back to the city. That's not the same as yours, but a desperate grandparent is a desperate grandparent in my book. He took to Alexis like a duck takes to water; he cried more than Rick did when we moved her out there."

Kim snorted and shook her head. "It's nice to know that they're the same everywhere."

"Mommy!" A dark haired boy skillfully dodged around occupants in the room as he ran towards them.

"Jase, my oldest." Kim looked from Kate to the boy and gave him a big smile. "Hey, little man, what did you do with Daddy?"

"He's wrestlin' with Zack. Daddy was givin' a lecture, and Will was hangin' off the guy Daddy was talkin' to. He told me to come find you and tell you to bring Annie over to the Brontosaurus display."

Kate's phone dinged in her pocket and she pulled it out to check the text message. "I think they've already had their play date, Kim. Rick just told me to head to the same display," she laughed, and hoisted herself up off the bench.

"Here, I can help you," Jason said, jumping over in front of Kate and grabbing her hand to help pull her up. "I helped Mommy up all the time when Annie was still in her belly."

"Well thank you."

"May I escort you lovely ladies to the dinosaurs?" Jason stood between them and held his hands out.

Kim laughed and stood herself. "He takes after his uncle Zack in the lady killer department. Sorry, Bub, I need both hands for her stroller."

Jason grabbed Kate's hand the side of the stroller. "This is basically the same thing as holding your hand, Mommy, cos we're both holding onto the stroller."

"Child logic, I love it," Kim grinned.

"This way," Jason ordered, dragging them through the crowd.

"Natural born leader," Kim explained again, picking up her pace to keep up with the energetic six-year-old.

"He's lucky he's cute. I don't take orders," Kate teased, doing her best to keep up.

"So, how's the weather up there?"

"Oh, that's totally original. How's the weather down there?" Kate laughed again, not caring where this sudden friendship had come from, and that it had already reached a place where it was okay to poke fun at the other one.

"A little humid, but otherwise not bad," she shot back, completely straight-faced.

"Oh man, Lanie would love you," Kate sighed, as the rounded the last group of people to find their husbands talking animatedly about dinosaurs; one with a squirming child hooked around his arm like a monkey, the other holding a wiggly toddler like a football. "Your child is climbing my husband like he's a tree."

"Yeah, Will does that. He climbs everything, fearless as can be. Scares me to death daily," Kim lamented.

Both women stood and watched the conversation continue for fifteen more minutes; every time they'd tried to wind it down something was said that would spark another anecdote. The two children had evidently gotten bored, because the older one dropped from Rick's arm to land on the floor next to his older brother, and the younger one had decided sleeping half upside down sounded wonderful. When Zack began to snore Kim rolled her eyes, and intervened. She tugged the little boy out of the hold with a surprising amount of force and just shook her head at her husband.

"Hey, Beautiful."

"Oh no, don't 'Hey, Beautiful,' me. You know I hate it when you let him hang upside down like that."

Kate shifted closer to Rick and laced her fingers through his. "We decided to set you two up on play dates," she whispered.

Rick grinned and pressed a kiss to her temple. "He was just telling me about her, she reminded me of Lanie so I knew you two would get along. I should've known you would've already found each other," he returned quietly, while the other couple continued to bicker in good nature.

Jason tugged on Kate's hand and spoke seriously, "If one of you doesn't stop them soon they'll start kissin'. That's fine and stuff, but Daddy picks her up and spins her and it's... look, it's embarrassin'. People watch them and please stop them."

Rick cleared his throat. "I love a good banter session just as much as the next guy, but the little guy here says that if I don't stop you there will be spinning."

The other two smiled sheepishly and quit their arguing. "Why don't we go back to my office and sit down?"

"Yes, please," Kate piped up, she'd been on her feet for most of the day and would love to get the chance to sit again.

Rick and Tommy picked up their dinosaur conversation again and headed off toward the side of the room, with the boys following them.

"Will you push you her stroller? If I try and put him in it all hell with break loose. A marching band could go by and it wouldn't phase him in the slightest, but if I stop touching him? He _is_ the marching band."

Kate happily grabbed Annie's stroller and the two women brought up the rear as they followed the same path the boys had all taken. They shared embarrassing stories about their husbands, sage advice for how to deal with man-child husbands, and some of their favorite 'my-husband-is-being-dopey-and-romantic-and-how-could-I-ever-not-love-him' moments, and Kim took it upon herself to try and prepare Kate for everything the books never told you about motherhood. As the afternoon drifted into the evening the couples agreed that they did indeed need to get together again, and made plans to do so before going their separate ways for dinner.

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><p>More notes: I don't normally do a second author's note, but I felt the need to follow this one up. Yes, their children are named after the other original Rangers. Although you can't really tell with Annie, but there is a cute story behind that one, which will be visited in a later chapter. I feel like this one ended kind of weirdly, but I didn't want extend this into forever and shove great big gobs of Ranger flail down your gullets, so I cut it off there.<p> 


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